Barcelona – Celta

Celta can hold out for one half against Barcelona

Barcelona will take on Celta in the 36th round of La Liga at the Camp Nou. The Catalan club took an important step at the weekend to build their team. An emotional win over Betis ensured qualification to the Champions League. There are no other objectives left for this season. Barcelona once again failed to convince defensively. Betis created enough threats to the goal. "The Cucumbers could well have hoped for a draw. Jordi Alba helped out. The full-back is having an outstanding season. His tally of assists was already in the second ten, and in the match with Betis he also managed to score the winning goal. Celta were one of the first to lose motivation for the rest of the season in terms of the standings. Eduardo Coudet's charges are the main midfielder in La Liga. Throughout the season, the collective from Vigo did not qualify for European competitions and were very far from the danger zone. Importantly, without tournament motivation, Celta have not given up playing. The Galician side have had some striking victories in recent matches. It is against the midfielders and outsiders that motivation is lacking, while the leaders have the right attitude. Celta took points from Betis, gave a bright fight to Real, losing only with a minimum score. Next up was a win in Bilbao over Athletic, who are now in superb form. Of the outsiders, only Alaves were thrashed in the last round. Iago Aspas scored a double. The Celta forward is second on the goalscoring list, behind only Karim Benzema. Once again, the bookmakers believe in Barcelona. The Catalans are favoured by odds of around 1.40. That said, the favourite shouldn't have such an advantage. Barcelona haven't beaten anyone by more than one goal in a very long time. Even Mallorca held out against Xavi's side on the road. In the first leg, the encounter in Vigo was very entertaining. Barcelona, even before Xavi but without Ronald Koeman, drew their opponents 3-3. Remarkably, the Catalans were 3-0 up as the match progressed. There is now every likelihood of another productive encounter. The opponents play without any pressure. Barcelona might have significant problems in defence. Pique, Ter Stegen and Desta are still missing through injury. It is logical to assume that Celta can hold out for at least one half. The bookmakers inflate the odds on even a positive result for the visitors at the end of one half. The last time Barcelona won by a big score was on 20 March. There are also few factors in favour of a rout at the moment.